Potter, who is appearing as the Mistress in the Broadway revival of “Evita” alongside Ricky Martin, grew up with the dream of becoming a country musician. After falling into musical theater when she got a job at Disney World, she’s returning to her Southern roots with the release of a six-track country EP this week.
“I’m sort of relating it to if Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift meet Paramore,” says Potter, who co-wrote the album with friend and producer Justin York. “It’s everything that I love to do.”
Potter, who has also appeared on Broadway as Wednesday in “The Addams Family” with Brooke Shields and understudied Glinda on the tour of “Wicked,” raised the funds to record and release the tracks through a successful Kickstarter campaign in December 2011.
“I never gave up the idea of doing country music or recording arts,” she says. “I’ve never really said, ‘Oh, I’m only going to do this.’ Once you climb the ladder, then hopefully you reach a plateau where you can just walk around. That’s always been what I was hoping for.”
Potter chatted with Back Stage about her passion for songwriting, how she got discovered through reality TV, and working in theme parks.
What made you want to release a country album?
Rachel Potter: When I was 12, I started writing songs, and I released a Christian album when I was 16. It didn’t really go anywhere. Then I went on to work for Disney World in musical theater and sort of got swept into the musical theater biz, and loved it. But I had always had this passion for recording arts and I had always loved country music. And deep down I always knew that I really wanted to be a country singer.
You mentioned getting your start in church. How did that shape you as a singer and actor?
Potter: I consider myself a preacher’s kid because my mom was a Christian music singer. I feel like Christian music relates to country music and musical theater because they are all story related. And I love music that provides therapy and allows your heart to really grab a hold of. I learned to sing in church on Sunday mornings. I was never in musical theater until I was an adult. My first musical theater job ever was when I was working for Disney World.
How did you start working at Disney World?
Potter: I had moved over to Orlando to go to college, and someone suggested that I go audition for Disney because I was a singer. It’s so funny to look back now because I knew nothing about musical theater. I sang a Christian song. My resume listed the Gap and that my duties were folding clothes and cash register. It also listed my typing speed. My headshot was a picture of me holding a microphone. I had literally no idea what I was doing. For some unknown reason, those casting directors gave me a chance, and I ended up getting a job singing as the Little Mermaid. That’s where I got my Equity card, and I worked my way through college. While I was still in college, I would fly up to New York as much as I could to audition for things. And I finally got seen by [Telsey + Co], and they called and asked if I wanted to be on [“Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods”]. Bernie Telsey had seen me in a callback for “Next to Normal,” and he asked me to do it, which was unreal. It kind of goes to show that sometimes it’s so just about luck and being in the right place at the right time. The stars just kind of aligned for me in that moment.
What was the experience of appearing on the “Legally Blonde” reality show?
Potter: I got kicked off on the first episode. I look back and wish that I had so much more experience when I got on that show. I got some really great air time. I was shown very positively, which was really very nice of them. Not that I gave them anything bad to show! The next day after the show aired, a big agency in New York contacted me on Facebook and asked if I had representation. So that’s how I got my first agent in New York, and as soon as I graduated from college, I moved to New York.
What did working at a theme park teach you as an actor?
Potter: I didn’t go to college for musical theater. I consider what I did at Disney World my musical theater university training. There’s no better training than to get on-the-job training. It’s no different than what I do now. It’s just a different scale. Instead of doing a three-hour-long performance in Times Square, you’re doing a 30-minute performance in front of a fraction of the audience, but you’re doing it eight times a day. I made so many mistakes when I was working for that company, but what’s so great about it is you’re able to make those mistakes when there’s not as many eyes on you. I would recommend it to anyone.
You play the Mistress in “Evita,” and there was a large, very public open call for that role. How did you land it?
Potter: I had auditioned for it when I first started “Addams Family.” It was sort of like the perfect storm of reasons why I shouldn’t get the part. I got really sick, and then of course got called to go in for that part. I didn’t have any time to learn the song and I didn’t know the show so I wasn’t prepared. So basically I didn’t get a callback. Period. So that was March. Cut to October. We find out we’re closing for “Addams Family," and I hear a rumor that they still haven’t cast the Mistress. And I just had a feeling, a gut feeling that that was my part. So I sent Telsey an e-mail and said I would really like another shot at this if you think it’s OK. They were like, “Sure.” I came back in, learned the song. I wasn’t sick and dressed the part and booked it. I feel like it’s sort of a testament: when something’s meant for you, even you can’t screw it up.
Rachel Potter's EP “Live the Dream” is available for download on iTunes or Amazon mp3.
